windows xp mode windows 7 32 bit upgrade

Next, depending on whether your PC uses an Intel or AMD CPU, go to one of these two sites: Open the System Control Panel applet to determine what CPU your computer has installed. How do you do this? Inside Windows 7, open the Control Panel, click System and Security then click System. The best resource we found for determining if your system includes virtualization support was to first find out what kind of processor you have. The reason for this is that Microsoft Virtual PC requires hardware virtual-ization support, which is only available in newer systems. However, before you do this, you should check your machine to make sure it is capable of running Virtual PC, and thus Windows XP Mode. To install Windows XP mode, you need to download two installers-the Windows Virtual PC installer and the Windows XP Mode software, which uses Virtual PC to run. Instead, you download the installation from the Microsoft website (similar to how Live Essentials is handled). Windows XP Mode isn’t shipped as part of the standard Windows 7 installation DVD.

This doesn’t apply only to custom applications, either-older software of all types has been found to have issues of this sort, even including older versions of Microsoft Office. What’s the point of Windows XP Mode? One of the problems that is a continuing concern among many businesses is the stability with which Windows 7 will run applications that were written for Windows XP. The result? You can run Windows XP-based applications alongside Windows 7 applications on a single desktop. Shortcuts for these applications are even placed into the Start Menu. Instead, as you install applications within the virtual XP environment, they are published to the host (Windows 7) operating system as well. Unlike most virtualization solutions, this one does not require that you run the Windows XP instance as a separate desktop. Windows XP Mode provides a fully licensed copy of Windows XP (with Service Pack 3 already installed) running virtually within your Windows 7 system.

Windows XP Mode is a special feature available only on higher-end versions of Windows 7-specifically the Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions (see Figure 11.8).

Windows xp mode windows 7 32 bit upgrade